Hope For The Future
by DracoSlayer95
Summary: What was supposed to be a peaceful day enjoying a nice picnic quickly spirals out of control as a mysterious girl appears from out of nowhere, claiming to have come from the future. With her she brings a dire message of the state of Gamindustri and it's not pretty. With help from Vert and co. they will work together to bring hope to the future. (Story has been Cancelled!)
1. Young Girl of Mystery!

**A/N: Welcome to my new story enjoy your stay.  
** **Just to get this out of the way first, special thanks to YuriLover567 for letting me use his OC, Verna. If you're interested in seeing more of her character in a less serious story, then I suggest checking out Verdant Breeze. And once again, thank you for checking this story out. This is kind of a giant love letter and tribute to a certain series and a certain character, so I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The soft pitter-patter of feet running down the halls could be heard all throughout the basilicom that day. A young, pre-teen girl had just gotten out of bed and was giddily making her way to the kitchen at top speed, only one thing on her mind: breakfast. Even better, today just so happened to be the start of a lovely Saturday morning and that only meant one thing!

"Pancakes!" The excited little girl called out as she leaped into the kitchen, where the table had already been set and a plate of the delectable hotcakes she was so excited for awaited her next to a cup of orange juice.

"Is that you my dearest- Oh..." A certain green-haired woman quickly turned around ecstatically with a spatula in-hand. Her expression instantly fell as soon as her eyes met the little girl. "Oh, it's just you, kid," she greeted before going back to flipping pancakes.

"Morning, big sis Chika!" the little girl greeted with a smile, ignorant to the tall greenette's indifferent tone of voice. The little blonde quickly ran up to the table, took a seat and grabbed the nearby fork and was about to chow down.

"Wha- Hey!" At least that had been the plan until Chika decided to intervene. "There's this thing called table manners, you know."

"Oh… Sorry," the little blonde said as she set shrunk into her chair.

"Might I ask what is with all the ruckus so early in the morning?" Both girls present turned towards the newcomer; a familiar redhead they both knew very well. "Ah, good morning, little one."

"Morning, big sis Cave!" the little one replied in a peppy voice. The redheaded SMD warrior stepped forward and rustled the girl's hair, to which the little blonde smiled and giggled. "Big sis Chika was telling me I should use table manners."

"I suppose I can see where she is coming from," Cave coolly responded, retracting her hand. "For once." Chika snorted. "At any rate, it's rare to see you up this early. Where is your sister?"

"Big sis said I could go ahead since she was really tired," the girl answered. "I tried to wait for her, but told me it was okay. She said she wanted to go wash her face first, so she went to the bathroom." The young blonde quickly proceeded to grab the syrup jar on the table and practically drowned her treats in the gooey stuff before a question came to her mind. "Oh yeah! Big sis Cave, is big sis Nep gonna show up soon?"

"I believe she is off having breakfast with her own family in Planeptune," answered Cave.

Verna's expression quickly became much more bummed out at the mention of the news, coming to a halt. "She's not coming?"

"That'd be nice," Chika chimed in. "It gets so loud with her around. And don't even get me started on the property damage and- Holy… You think you poured enough syrup on there, kid?!"

"Huh… Maybe?"

"Urgh… I swear, it's like talking to a brick wall."

"You talk to walls, big sis Chika?"

Cave had to stifle a laugh upon seeing her long-time friend's annoyed reaction to Verna's innocent question. The most she let slip was a smirk before she returned her focus to the young blonde at the table, happily digging into her food and covering her cheeks in syrup. As such, Cave tapped into her older sister instincts and grabbed a napkin with which to clean the girl's face. It was around then that the final member to their group showed up to greet her friends.

"Speak of the Goddess. Good morning, Lady Vert."

"Good morning, my darling! I've made plenty of pancakes especially for you!"

"Good morning, Chika, Cave," the groggy blonde replied, trying to hold back a yawn. Upon noticing the younger blonde chowing down on the table and practically lathering her face in syrup, she offered a smile for the little tyke. "Good morning, Verna. Don't you think maybe you used a little too much syrup?"

"Morning, big sis," Verna replied. "Syrup tastes really yummy, especially on pancakes." The little blonde gave the dopiest little smile possible from the sheer joy she found in consuming her breakfast.

"I understand that, but you could easily dirty your clothes," Vert said sternly. Cave offered the CPU a cup filled with warm coffee, which she gladly accepted and took a quick sip of. "You didn't even bother changing out of your green footie pajamas; it'd be a shame if you got them dirty so soon."

"It's okay. I'll be real careful, sis," said Verna before she proceeded to shove more food into her mouth. "Oh yeah! Sis, can big sis Nep come visit?"

"Neptune? Isn't she off in Planeptune?" the CPU asked, her gaze shifting to Cave. The redheaded SMD warrior offered a simple nod of confirmation as her answer. "I suppose we can call her over if she is not too busy. Although..." Images of kangaroos, wallabies and other nonsensical thoughts suddenly sprung to the Leanbox CPU's mind. "Knowing her, she's probably getting into her own misadventures with her self."

"But I want to see her," Verna whined. "Big sis Nep is fun!"

Vert sighed. "I suppose I can give her a call and see if she can stop by later."

"Yay!" cheered Verna, throwing her arms into the air. "Thanks, sis! You're the best!"

"B-But of course," Vert haughtily exclaimed, a proud smirk creeping its way onto her features. Chika could be seen holding up her spatula from the sidelines, but a quick glance from Cave stopped her in her tracks before she could act on… whatever was going on in her head. The greenette gave one last grumble before she resumed flipping her confections of delight. Soon enough everyone was sat around the table eating to their heart's content, enjoying each other's company. It was such a nice and peaceful exchange that they all wished it could last a little longer, but alas, all good things must come to an end.

 **Young Girl of Mystery**

Off in some unknown corner of the world a young blonde-haired girl sat, staring forward at a simple little fountain. The water-filled structure showed signs of age, covered in rust and falling apart in places. There was a statue of a young girl standing on a small pedestal in the middle of it, broken and cracked in several places; a hole where it's heart once was.

The young blonde stepped forward, staring deeply into the water. She could see hundreds upon hundreds of coins beyond her own wavy reflection. Hundreds upon hundreds of wishes gently reflecting the light bleeding in from the broken roof staring back at her. As the girl brushed her hand against the water's surface she could almost feel the weight of all those coins as if she was holding them all in her hands. One coin alone would hardly even be noticeable, but put together they would crush the girl underneath the burden which they all bore.

The blonde let out a sigh, finally moving away from the decrepit fountain. She reached a hand a into her coat pocket and pulled out a green ribbon. She grabbed it with her lips before reaching around and grabbing her hair. Once she was satisfied with the way she'd adjusted it she took the ribbon and used it to settle her hair into a long ponytail that reached all the way to her hips.

The girl was silent for many a moment after that; her breaths the only sound that signified that she was still alive. There came a soft pitter-patter of feet somewhere behind her, garnering her full attention. She turned to see a brunette girl with a side ponytail and an oversized coat, not unlike her own.

She stood with a confident poise that was difficult to replicate, a single hand rested on her hip. "So this is where you were, huh?" the brunette began, "Should've figured as much. Well, that doesn't really matter right now, I just came to let you know… It's finally finished."

"..." The blonde's blue eyes widened in surprise. "Really? It… It's finally complete?" she asked in disbelief. "You mean we can finally-"

"Yup," the brunette interrupted. "We finally have a shot at changing things."

"Wow… It's almost hard to believe..." the blonde muttered to herself. "Our work's finally paid off, huh..."

"I can see you probably need a moment to yourself," the brunette said. "Well, just try not to take too long. And when you're done, you'd better go get whatever you think you'll need for the trip. I doubt we'll be found out anytime soon, but I'd rather you get going as soon as possible."

"Wait," the blonde intervened. "You're not coming with me?"

The brunette sighed, rubbing the back of her head tiredly. "Look, I'd love to come along and all, but… Well, if I do go with you, I might never want to come back." The brunette closed her eyes as a scowl found its way to her features. She tried to shake away whatever thoughts must have been going on through her head, but there was a moment where her facade faded, showing a more vulnerable side of herself. It was gone as soon as it had shown up as the brunette quickly recolltected herself. "At any rate, this was your idea, so you should be the one to go. We're all counting on you, so you better not let us down."

"...IF… I understand," the blonde stated, a fierce resolve shining in her eyes. "I'll be back before you know it."

With that the blonde girl sprung back to life, making her way past her brunette friend and making her way out of the room. IF could only stand there, watching the girl's retreating back as she left. "You'd better. I don't know if we can hold out much longer."

 **Young Girl of Mystery**

"Do we have everything for our picnic?" Vert asked, looking over the contents of her simple straw pic-a-nic basket. After the group's little family breakfast they had begun preparing to go on a picnic, thus Vert found herself inspecting everything with Cave at the entrance halls of the Leanbox basilicom. "Sandwiches are accounted for. What about the blanket? Should we bring an umbrella? I wouldn't want Verna to get a sunburn while we're out."

"I'm sure it will be fine, Lady Vert," Cave coolly responded, placing a hand on the CPU's shoulder. "More over I have already packed some sunblock into my inventory for just such an occasion."

"I knew I could count on you, Cave," Vert praised, "Now, where did I leave my sunglasses? Should we bring bug spray just in case?"

"I'm sure it will be fine," replied Cave. "You worry too much."

"I can't help it! I just feel so paranoid that anything could go wrong," Vert avowed. "You remember what happened the last time I tried taking Verna outside. Thank goodness Neptune was the one to find her; who knows what might have happened if she hadn't been there."

"I suppose you have a point there," agreed Cave. "Even still, you could stand to relax a bit more. We will be keeping a much closer eye on her this time."

"I know, but still..."

Vert's train of thought was then promptly interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door. She eyed the door for a second before sighing and moving to see who was there. Come to find out, the person on the other side of the door turned out to be none other than the purplette known as Neptune (the bigger one).

"Heya, Verty!" the eccentric purplette greeted. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"You were here literally only a few days ago," Vert deadpanned. "At any rate, it is good to see you are doing well. I wasn't sure if you would actually make it though."

"Sorry, did I keep you guys waiting?" she asked.

"We were expecting you here half an hour ago," Cave interjected. "If I may ask, what kept you so long?"

"Oh hey, Cavey!" Neptune waved at the redheaded SMD agent. "You see, I was trying to see if Mini Me wanted to tag along, but apparently Uzume really needed her help with something, so she decided to give her a hand. I offered to help out, too, but they said they'd be fine without me. But first they were nice enough to drop me off here; they already left though."

"I see. But what about Lady Nepgear? Couldn't she have offered her assistance?" Cave inquired.

"Well, about that. Nep Jr. caught a pretty bad case of the sniffles a while ago, so they're having her stay in bed until she gets better."

"My word!" Vert exclaimed. "This is news to me. I hope she gets better soon."

"I suppose she won't be going anywhere anytime soon," Cave added.

"Don't worry about it," Neptune chimed in, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Nepgear couldn't be happier having her two big sisters doting on her and keeping her company. Honestly, I think she's a little too happy for a girl who's been stuck in bed for two days."

"That's Lady Nepgear all right," Cave mused aloud.

"But that's enough about Little Nep. Where's little Verny?" Inviting herself into the room, the purplette began looking around every which way like a curious pup, until the conveniently time appearance of the little blonde caught her attention.

"Big sis Nep!" Verna called out from atop the stairway leading to the higher levels of the basilicom. The little blonde was now garbed in a quaint white and green sun dress. Chika soon showed up right behind the girl, looking as though she'd just escaped from hell itself.

"I swear, I am not helping you get dressed next time around, kid. Seriously, it's not that hard to- What the hell are you doing?!"

Before Chika could ask any further, little Verna just up and leaped down the stairs as everyone watched on with wide eyes. The trio of Neptune, Cave and Vert all rushed forward to catch the girl while Verna merely smiled and giggled all the while. Luckily, Neptune caught the young blonde before she could fall and hurt herself, though she was knocked on her rear in the process.

"You came! I missed you, big sis Nep!"

"Ow!" Neptune winced for a brief second before looking at the blonde in her arms with a very stern expression. "Don't do that, Verny! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Verna!" Vert called out, sliding next to Neptune and immediately looking over her little sister. "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you? Is your dress okay?"

"Sorry, sis," Verna mumbled. "I was really excited to see big sis Nep."

"I understand that, but you mustn't do something so reckless," Vert chided. "What would have happened if you'd gotten hurt? I don't think my heart could take it."

"I'm sorry," Verna whimpered, her expression flipping upside-down into a frown. "Are you all mad at me?"

"Now, now, you are not in any trouble, nor are any of us mad at you," Cave cut in, "She looks to be fine, so I suppose we can take it easy on her for now." By this point Chika had also joined the group at the bottom of the stairs. "Just as long as you promise you won't do such a thing again. Am I understood?"

"Yeah! I promise!" Verna replied gleefully and without hesitation, smiling brightly at the redhead. Neptune and Vert could only let out a sigh as they silently went along with Cave. "Thanks, big sis Cave. You're the best!"

"Wha… I thought I was the best…?" Vert muttered to herself, going unheard by the little Verna. Both Cave and Neptune tried to place a hand on her shoulders, but it was all in vain as the little girl was already up and about ignoring her sister. Chika was just about to jump in, as if she was a predator that had found the perfect opportunity to swoop in and comfort her beloved, but her chances were foiled as Verna turned to the group and spoke once more.

"Hey sis! We can go now that big sis Nep is here, right?" The little blonde asked eccentrically. "I want to play~"

Vert finally stood up, dusting herself off and unwittingly dashing Chika's hopes as Cave stifled a chuckle. "I s-suppose we should get going... It's a lovely day out, after all..."

"Ooh, are you guys heading out for a picnic?" Neptune inquired. "Because I want in!"

"Yay! Big sis Nep is coming, too!"

"Then, let us not waste any more time and get moving," suggested Cave as she went to grab the picnic basket. "Are you sure you don't want to bring a hat, though, little one?"

"It's okay! Big sis Chika already packed one for me."

"Is that so?"

"S-Stop looking at me like that, Cave!"

"My, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't act all innocent with me, I- Hey! Get back here! I'm not done yet!"

"Of course Cave is the best… She is much more reliable..."

"You feeling all right there, Verty?"

"Please don't talk to me right now."

"O...kay… Really wishing Mini Me was here right about now."

…

 _Urgh! Feeling… woozy…_

 _I know they said this would be… rough, but this is way worse than what I was expecting… Darn… My eyesight is starting to go blurry… and my hands are so numb… I feel like I'm going to throw up… Please let this be over soon!_

"So, this is the spot, huh?" Neptune said aloud. It had only taken a few minutes for the group to reach a good location for their little excursion. The group had chosen a spot not too far from the basilicom just in case anything happened to Verna. "Not too shabby, if I may say so myself."

Cave had begun taking out blanket and setting it down on the ground for the group to sit on. All the while, Verna was quite literally running in circles in the grass with great energy and fervor. "Yay! Picnic! Picnic! Picnic!"

"Why do kids have so much energy?" Chika wondered to herself.

"It's best to just let them have their fun," Cave chimed in.

 _Wait… I think I can see… a light? Oh, please tell me I'm finally there!_

With a sigh, Vert took her seat on the blanket. "Something tells me today is going to be a very hectic and chaotic day," the CPU mumbled aloud.

"It feels like every day has been quite lively ever since Verna was born," Cave mused, taking a seat right across from the CPU. "She certainly does have a lot of "big sisters" at this point, doesn't she?"

"It seems that way, yes," Vert replied, a little bit more melancholic than she'd intended. However, a quick glance at Verna made it very hard for the CPU to retain her somber mood. For as much as she would have liked to be a good older sister to Verna, she supposed she would still need to work on that. "I do hope she doesn't tire herself out too much while-"

 _Wait! I'm… I'm losing control! Oh, no! I'm going to crash at this rate!_

"...Lady Vert? Is something the… matter…?"

Without warning the wind began to pick up. It went from a light breeze to a more violent gust of wind, nearly knocking little Verna off her feet out of surprise. The group were all forced to brace themselves from it all, when suddenly the winds began to stir and gather around a specific area in the sky. Sparks of electricity could be seen as some sort of portal began to form above the group, and from it an aircraft of some kind spiraled out from it and plummeted towards the ground, crashing not too far from the group with a loud boom that spooked Verna into hiding behind Vert for protection.

"What the heck just happened?!" Neptune exclaimed from the sudden surprise.

"What in the world is that?!" Vert mused aloud.

"The weather forecast didn't say anything about this!" Chika shrieked.

"Sis, I'm scared!" Verna whimpered.

"It's all right, Verna. We won't let anything happen to you," Vert reassured.

"I shall investigate," Cave stated. "Be prepared for anything. We don't know who or what could be in that thing."

The SMD warrior withdrew her scissor blades from her inventory and approached the aircraft with caution, inspecting the thing very closely. It had charred the earth around it and formed a miniature crater upon impact, but surprisingly, it was still very in good condition despite the impact. It had kicked up a great deal of dust as well, making it difficult to fully make out all of its details.

The rest of the group soon approached the strange aircraft, when all of a sudden, some sort of window popped open. Everyone stood on guard as the form of a young girl shakily stood up, hidden by the dust cloud. The tension was unbearable as all eyes watched for any signs of movement, when...

The figure leaned forward and fell towards the ground unceremoniously as the group stared with wide eyes. Little Verna slowly peeked her head from behind Vert's leg, just as curious as everyone else at the moment. Seconds passed and the dust soon began to settle, revealing the mysterious being from within the aircraft as a teenage girl with a long blonde ponytail. She had fallen unconscious as soon as she made contact with the ground.

"Whoa! Is that a girl?!" Neptune marveled at the sight. She quickly shook off her surprise and withdrew a purple notebook from out of her oddly-shaped pockets. "Crostie! Crostie, wake up!"

" _I_ am _up!_ " the book angrily replied. " _As if I could stay asleep after something like that!_ _What the hell's going on out there anyway?! Did you blow something up again!_ "

"How rude! I did no such thing… This time," the purplette replied. "Look, that's not important right now! A hole just opened up in the sky and this weird ship thing just crashed and then a girl came out of it! Do you know anything about this?!"

" _How the hell would I know anything about this?!_ " Croire countered. " _I dunno what's going on, but it sounds like someone's been messing around with dimension again. Not sure why, but who knows? Maybe now I'll finally get to record something interesting._ "

"Neptune, could you please put a lid on Croire?" Vert asked, having moved to the mysterious girl's side. "We have more important matters on our hands right now. Can someone please come and help me pick this girl up?"

"Allow me, my darling!" Chika offered, jumping at the chance to help her beloved. Although she did cast an annoyed, almost jealous glance at the unconscious girl for taking up her "sister's" attention.

"I'm sorry Verna, but it looks we'll have to cancel our picnic," the green CPU sadly informed the younger blonde.

Thankfully, Verna didn't seem to mind it all that much, even if she was still shaking a little. "It… It's okay… Is… Is the lady okay?" she inquired, pointing at the mysterious newcomer.

"You don't need to worry. We'll have her taken care of in no time at all," Vert reassured. She refocused her attention to the unconscious young teen, carrying her in her arms bridal style with some (begrudging) help from Chika. It gave the CPU a good chance to really look at the girl in full. In fact, Vert was having a hard time taking her eyes off of her. Something about her just seemed so… familiar…


	2. Message From The Future!

Today was supposed to be a sunny day in Leanbox with a light breeze rolling around sometime in the afternoon and a 10 percent chance of a light drizzle. However, the weather forecast said nothing about mysterious young girls traveling through wormholes from different dimension. Perhaps an event such as that wasn't exactly unheard of in Gamindustri, but Vert can't say she'd expected something like that while she was trying to enjoy a nice, relaxing picnic with her friends and loved ones.

The group had initially been taken aback by the sudden turn of events, none more so than little Verna, but after they'd all calmed down they had taken the enigmatic young girl that had passed out and brought her to one of the Leanbox basilicom's guest rooms for her to recover. The girl didn't seem to have been injured, but the hop between dimensions had taken its toll on her.

It had been three hours since they'd brought her to Vert's guest room, but the girl still hadn't woken up yet. They all had so many questions for her, but when it became apparent the girl would take a while to finally wake up the group decided to find ways to while away the time. Vert had opted to stay behind to look after the girl while Neptune took Verna out to play, though the little girl poked her head in every so often to check on the two. Lastly, Chika decided to head to the kitchen to go whip up some food since their picnic from before had been interrupted so spectacularly, while Cave decided to follow and keep an eye on the green oracle.

With all that said and done, Vert was currently busy replacing the wet towel on the sleeping girl's forehead and trying to make sure she was comfortable. It was much easier said than done, though. Most people tended to feel at ease when they slept, but this girl kept squirming around in bed and grumbling to herself before calming down a little, only for the process to start all over again.

Vert may not have known who this girl was, or where she came from, but if there was one thing she could tell, it was that this girl was scared of something. Perhaps that was why she'd traveled through dimensions, to seek help in banishing some sort of great evil. Normally, Vert might actually look forward to getting her own chance in the limelight to save a world from a terrifying evil, but… something about the way the girl in bed was whimpering made her feel a sense of dread.

Vert didn't know if there was anything she could do for the poor girl; all she could think to do was hold her hand.

"Please don't leave me, Vert..."

Vert almost stumbled backwards at the mention of her name, eyes widening in surprise. The girl seemed to calm down a little after that, leaving Vert to wonder how this girl knew her. Something about this girl was just so… familiar.

In the time she'd been watching over her, Vert had gotten a very close look at the girl, and it only served to make that sense of familiarity grow.

She was a tall, young girl, most likely in her late teens, early adult years. with long blonde hair that reached down to her waist and a pair of dark blue eyes. She had been wearing a long-sleeved, green overcoat with golden trims and cuffs, as well as two red lightning bolts along the sides with a matching, knee-length cape attached to a belt along her waist. They had gotten in the way when looking the girl over, so they'd been taken off and placed on a nearby table. Aside from that, the girl wore a small red ribbon around her neck, held in place by a green star ornament, as well as a simple brown tank top and short shorts, both with golden trims. She also had a pair of knee-high brown boots that were settled by the foot of her bed of the same color as her shirt and shorts.

By all accounts, Vert shouldn't know this girl at all, but she looked just like…

"Nnngh..." The CPU's thought were pushed back as the girl started squirming around again. She wasn't looking forward to hearing any more of that scared whimpering and mumbling, but… It never came. Instead, the young blonde began to stir, her eyes fluttering open, adjusting to the light bleeding into the room. Her body slowly began to rise from the bed until the mystery girl was sitting up. " Ugh… Where…?"

"Oh, good. I was wondering when you'd finally wake up," Vert started began calmly, careful to try and not surprise the girl too much and put her on edge. The blonde swerved her head very slowly to look at the busty blonde, her eyes widening in shock. "I trust that you are feeling better now?"

The girl remained silent for a good few moments; her eyes were practically glued to the Leanbox CPU with disbelief written all over her face. Her mouth occasionally fell open and closed several times, as if she was trying to find her voice, but it wasn't until at least a minute had past that she finally spoke. "...Vert…?"

Once more the girl had spoken the CPU's name, to which Vert silently nodded, giving her a warm smile. Though, Vert immediately began to wonder if that had been a wise move as tears began to form near the corners of her mystery guest's eyes. This left Vert in an odd predicament in which she had no idea on what to do, but then came the sound of a door opening from behind her and she breathed an inward sigh of relief as more familiar voices flooded the room.

"Lady Vert, are you still… Oh, it seems our guest is finally awake," said the voice that was obviously Cave.

"It's about time," Chika grumbled only to receive a light bop on the head from the SMD warrior.

"Coolio! Does that mean we can finally talk to her?" Neptune chimed in, pushing her way forward past the other two. The teen blonde shifted her gaze to the group as soon as they had entered and her eyes widened upon seeing their full group. By the time they'd all begun to settle into the room, the tears began to streak down the girl's eyes as if a dam had been burst. "Wha? Is she crying?! Verty, what did you do to her?!"

"E-Excuse me! I didn't do anything!" Vert defended. "She only started crying the moment you all came in! And wait a minute, where is Verna?!" Vert didn't notice, but the mystery blonde seemed to show a slight reaction to hearing that name. This did not go unnoticed by Cave, however, but she decided not to comment on it.

"Ah, she got kind of tired, so she's taking a nap in the living room right now," Neptune answered.

"I'm surprised that _you're_ still awake after all that," Chika once more chimed in. "Kids are supposed to have a lot of energy, but I don't understand how you were able to keep up with her like that."

"Chika, this is Neptune, we're talking about," Vert added. "Regardless of the dimension she's as wild and unpredictable as a wild Fenrir hyped up on coffee."

"Hey, now… That's actually kind of a neat mental image. Maybe I should try that with Mini Me sometime."

"I fear that I may have just incited an unforeseeable travesty for the near future."

"Don't worry, my beloved. I will take care of anyone who could potentially pin anything on us."

"Chika, my dear, those almost sound like the words of a serial killer."

"Looks like Chika's finally gone full on yandere."

"I am not a yandere!"

"That's exactly what a yandere would say!"

Cave sighed to herself as the rest of the group had gone off on a massive tangent. It was hard to tell how long this would go on, or if anyone other than Cave even remembered about the blonde girl sitting in bed, but they all came to a halt as the sound of giggling caught their ears. Their mystery guest was laughing at the group. She'd started with a silent chuckle, but it had evolved into full-fledged laughter by the end, bringing everyone's focus back to her as she continued to laugh her heart out.

"Hahah… Ha… You guys have always been so weird..." She finally spoke after she had calmed down. Vert blinked a few times before offering the girl a smile, calmly eyeing the girl as she wiped a tear from her eye. Whether it was a tear of joy or something else had yet to be seen.

"I'm glad you seem to be doing better now," Vert began. "If you don't mind, we have a lot of questions we'd like to ask you, if that's alright with you." The group all walked closer to the teen blonde, eyes all filled with different emotions, but each carrying a sparkle of curiosity. "Of course, we don't want to assault you with too many questions right away, so what I'd like to know is… Who are you?"

The young teen went silent again. She recoiled in surprise for a second from the question, almost as if she hadn't expected it, but after she blinked a few times she seemed to collect herself easily enough. "I… I guess I should have expected you wouldn't actually know me… It...was stupid of me to get my hopes up like that."

"What are you…?" Vert stopped herself mid-sentence. She glanced to her friends; they were just as lost as she was, but with a glance to Cave, the redheaded soldier gave her a silent nod, like she'd read Vert's mind and was offering confirmation to what was going on in her head. "Are you..."

"I suppose I should introduce myself properly..." The teen girl cut Vert off before she could finish that thought. She adjusted herself on the bed and offered a calm look to the crowd of four staring at her, introducing herself with a polite bow. "My name is Verna. I have come from the future in search of help from the past… Gamindustri… Is on the verge of collapse where I am from."

"...Huh…?"

"...The brat...?"

"...C-Collapse?"

"...Future…?"

"HHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

 **Message From The Future**

"...Well I'll be damned..." IF stood there, jaw slack and eyes wide with disbelief. There was a slight breeze passing by through the room, a large, square lab with a giant white circle drawn into the center. There were at least a dozen other girls standing around the room wearing the same dumbfounded expression as IF herself. Some were wearing lab coats and standing near computers or other machines, while some were dressed in military-style clothes, but all had their eyes focused on the center of the room, or to be more precise, the floor on which their creation once stood.

It had been a long-shot to begin with, but it had finally worked. There was a lone girl who walked forward closer to the circle, crouching down where she put her hand on the ground to make sense of the situation. It wasn't until she looked up and her expression grew into a relieved smile that the room that the room finally came back to life.

Cheers erupted from all over, some individuals even threw their heats into the air out of excitement, and some had even started to pull out some alcohol. Hell, even IF felt herself starting to get a little caught up in the group's cheerful mood. Even so, she had an image to maintain, so instead of joining in on everyone's festivities, she quietly made her way to the exit with a relieved smirk on her face all the while.

Everyone tried to get her to stay, but she politely declined as she made her way out of there. It was funny, even after she'd left the room she could still hear them loud and clear through the dreary concrete and cement walls. Even the sound of a train blaring its horn would pale in comparison to the room full of excited scientist and soldiers.

"I guess now we can afford to take it easy for a little while," she said to no in particular. "I guess I'd better go tell everyone the good news, then. Compa did say she wanted to make something special in celebration for today." IF couldn't help but smile thanks to the image of the peach-haired nurse popping into mind. "Better not keep her waiting."

"We wouldn't want that, now would we?" A voice from behind asked IF.

IF glanced over her shoulder, her cheeks practically glowing red. Not far behind her was a lone girl garbed in the same military outfit as everyone else, smiling deviously at the hardened brunette's brief moment of weakness. "Wh-why aren't you with the others?!" the brunette sputtered out.

"What can I say? Parties just aren't my thing," the girl responded, walking forward by IF's side. "I hardly know anyone here to begin with anyway, so there's no use in sticking around. I kind of envy you a bit; you and this Compa must be pretty close, huh, Ms. IF?"

"W-well, we have known each other since we've been kids," IF explained, trying to regain her composure in front of the nameless soldier.

"It's no wonder you like her so much, then."

"Did you just follow me so you tease me or what?!" IF snapped. Her follower only chuckled in response to the brunette's little outbursts. Even so, IF was sure to collect herself before going on once more. "Ahem… S-sorry about that. I didn't mean for that to come out so loud."

"No, it's fine," the soldier assured, "It just means you really do care about her if you're getting so embarrassed about me talking about her. Compa's a really lucky lady to have a friend like you, Ms. IF."

"I'd say I'm the real lucky one. She's always having to patch me up when I get hurt and even has to put up with me when I'm at my worst," IF grumbled, her shoulders almost slacking as she spoke. She shook her head free of those thoughts, knowing that her self-deprecation wasn't helping anybody. "A-anyway… I'm going to go make a call and let her and the others know that the device worked. I'm sure we could all use some good news right now."

"Then, if you don't mind, can I come with you?" the soldier asked. "I'll get out of your hair if you want, but I'm not really sure what else to do right now."

"I don't really mind. Just stop it with all the teasing, alright?"

"I can only promise to try."

"...That's the best I'm getting out of you, isn't it?"

"'Fraid so."

"Tsk… Well, I'm in a pretty good mood right now, so I guess it's not a big deal," said IF, "Do as you please."

"I plan to."

"Heh. You sure are an interesting one," IF noted aloud. "I don't remember seeing you around before? You new here?"

"Yes, actually," the girl answered. "I only showed up relatively recently, so hardly anyone really knows me yet."

"Is that so…?" IF eyed the girl for a good few seconds while they walked together. She'd been so caught up in her elation from before that she hadn't really thought about it, but now that she stopped to think about it… Something about this girl just seemed… off somehow. More importantly, she couldn't remember seeing this girl in the room with everyone else before she'd left… "When'd you transfer over here, if you don't mind my asking?"

"One of the personnel from the group passed away recently, right? I was sent over to act as a replacement for her," she explained. While it might have been true that they did lose someone not too long ago, that only answered the _why_ , not the _when_.

"I see..." IF mumbled. "Then, if you don't mind my asking, what's your name?" The duo were beginning to make their way out of the underground tunnel. They were so close to the light of the outside world, and yet…

"Stella."

So far…

IF's blood ran cold as soon as she heard that name. She instinctively jumped back, reaching for her gun holster, but before she could do anything with it, she tripped up and fell over face-first on the ground, a stinging pain shooting up through her legs. A crimson pool began forming under the brunette's body, staining her clothes and oversized jacket, but the pain was nothing compared to the fear and panic rising in the pit of her stomach at the sight of the grim reaper staring down at her, bloodied scythe in hand. "Y-You… How did you find us?" IF asked through shaky breaths. "There's no way..."

"Maybe because I was the one who killed that personnel I was talking about," the girl's cold voice answered. "It was a giant pain to find you guys, I'll admit. I didn't think you'd be betting your luck on a time machine, of all things. Props to you, I suppose."

"Y-You!" IF reached for her gun one more time, but her assailant was quicker to act, stabbing the scythe's blade into her bicep. "AAAAARRRRGHH!"

"You really shouldn't test your luck like that, Ms. IF," the girl said, retracting her blade from IF's arm. "Now, let's see… If I counted correctly, there were about 37 people in that room with you."

IF's eyes widened in fear of her friends' lives. "Y-you wouldn't!"

"Well, that all depends on you," the girl replied. "What was that machine and why was it so special? I'm afraid I showed up a bit late, so I didn't have enough time to get many of the fine details from anyone."

"I'll…never tell you!" IF spat out through gritted teeth.

"Well, that's a shame."

"Why…?"

"Come again?"

"Why are you doing all of this?"

"I guess I could explain it to you, but…" The girl stared at her own reflection from her scythe. There was an almost contemplative look on her face, as if she was thinking about something. What that was, IF would not know, nor would she ever find out, because after a short moment, the girl raised up her scythe... "You wouldn't actually care. No one ever has."

And the scythe came down.

"I'm sorry, Compa."

 **Message From The Future**

"I… I'm afraid I don't understand this situation at all," Vert said to the mysterious blonde claiming to be her sister from the future. "This is all so… so sudden. I'm not even sure what to say."

"I understand," the teen Verna replied. "I guess it is kind of unbelievable. Hearing that your little sister came back in time and all..."

" _Can't say I was expecting that, but I guess it does make a bit of sense._ " The group all turned their attention to Croire – still trapped inside Neptune's book – as if waiting for an explanation.

"What do you mean, Crostie?" Neptune asked, voicing the group's collective thoughts.

" _I didn't think much of it at first, but I knew there was something different about what happened back there. I have the power to warp between dimension, but_ _whatever she did was something different. I wasn't sure what, but it makes sense if it really was some sort of time travel._ "

"S-so, then she did travel through time?"

" _You doubting me, Thunder Tits?!_ "

"Wha! I only want to be sure! Where did you even hear that nickname?! And would everyone stop giggling already?!"

" _I ain't saying I'm a hundred percent sure, I'm just throwing it out there… And I heard it from Flatty McGee, by the way. She didn't say who she was talking about, but you were the only one who fit the bill._ "

"Is that so? I suppose I'll have to repay her in kind for this."

"Um… S-sis…?" Verna hesitantly interrupted, raising a weary hand to her sister. She was spooked a bit when Vert suddenly snapped her head at her, but big Verna's reaction seemed to sober her up from the little outburst.

"Ah… My apologies..."

"It… It's alright," Verna assured, flashing a warm, if a bit awkward smiled.

"We seem to be getting off track," Cave interjected. "I don't mean to pry, but could you please explain your situation? You mentioned that Gamindustri is on the verge of collapsing? What exactly happened in your time?"

"Ah… R-right… I just… got so carried away seeing all of you again..."

"Again?" Neptune repeated. "Did… Did something happen to all of us in the future?"

"..."

"Verny?" Seeing the teen blonde suddenly go silent from the question, Neptune placed a hand on top of Verna's to help her feel at ease. "It's alright. We're right here for you." The teen Verna was taken aback by the gesture, but she smiled, thankful to the purplette. Neither of them noticed Vert's jealous pout either, but that's beside the point.

"Thanks, big sis Nep." Vert could be seen pouting once more. "I guess… I should start from the beginning."

With that being said, everyone fell quiet once again, waiting patiently for Verna's explanation.

"You see, in the future where I come from, Gamindustri has become a desolate place. The skies have turned grey, most of the major cities have been destroyed, if not completely wiped out, and even the total population has dwindled. Gamindustri has become a shadow of what it once was… And it's all thanks to one woman… The killer who calls herself Stella."

Vert's eyes widened in shock, mirroring the rest of her friends in the room. It was almost unbelievable to hear that such a thing could befall Gamindustri, but that's not the part that really got to Vert. No… That name… Vert heard Verna whispering the name under her breath while she was still asleep. She hadn't thought much of it at first, she just assumed it was someone else she was close to but now… "What happened, Verna?" Vert hesitantly asked.

The teen Verna scowled at the unpleasant memories. She had to take a deep breath to calm herself before she continued on. "It all happened on that day. I don't really remember much from back then, but… I remember thinking it was just going to be like any other day. But when I went to go see my sister… We'd found her dead in her room, killed by a lone human."

The group stumbled back in disbelief. Cave had to hold Chika up to keep the stunned oracle from falling over out of shock. "Th-there's no way..." Chika mumbled weakly. "That can't be right! There's no way that a human can kill a Goddess! My darling would never lose to a mere-"

"Chika, calm yourself!" Vert cut in, stopping Chika in her tracks. "I'm sorry about that," she said, directed at Verna. "I know it must be hard to believe, but I want to know exactly what happened. Please, tell us what you know, Verna." With that, Chika quieted down, taking a seat next to Vert, wanting to be closer to the CPU. "Is there more we need to know?"

"Actually, yes," confirmed Verna. "It had started off small at first, but during the weeks leading up to Vert's death, we'd been losing shares. Almost like sand being squeezed through an hourglass, if that makes sense." All of a sudden, Vert's death made far more sense with that. "I later found out that the reason we'd been losing shares was because that woman… She'd been causing a lot of trouble in small villages and towns on the outskirts of Leanbox… She was slowly killing people to weaken the two of us."

There was a stunned silence following that. Such tactics were far more heinous than any enemies from the past had ever employed. Not even Kurome had ever stooped to such tactics.

Verna continued on with her story. "We'd tried to figure out who was behind it all, but it was too late to do anything by the time She had chosen to act. To make matters worse, Vert's death led to an even greater decline in shares. Goddesses have the power to protect small villages through their divine protection, but with Vert's death our nation fell into disrepair. I probably would have died from it, if not for Cave and Chika's tireless efforts to restore everyone's faith.

"But even so… She didn't stop with just Leanbox. Planeptune, Lastation, and even Lowee all suffered the same fate, losing shares until their CPUs were killed by that demon. Noire, Uni, Blanc, Rom, Ram, and even Ms. Neptune were all killed and their nations all started falling apart. Monsters flooded all of the cities and drastically reduced the total population… It was all like something out of a nightmare. I...I didn't know what to do… I was so scared that I wasn't even sure we could rebuild after all of that..."

"Verna..." Vert tried to conjure up anything she could say to help this new Verna feel better, but looking at her shaking hands, balled into fists, any words she could come up with died in her throat before they could escape. She felt somewhat ashamed that, even now, she didn't know what to do for her beloved little sister. "V-Verna… I am… I'm sorry to hear that."

"I still can't believe it worked… We spent so long building the time machine, that I wasn't sure we'd ever really succeed." The green CPU shut up, silently cursing her terrible instincts as an older sister. "And that's why I've come here today."

All of a sudden, Verna's voice became deadly serious. She took a deep breath, eyeing everyone in the room and placed her hands on her knees, sitting into a seiza position.

"I've come from the future to ask for your help." The party all went slack-jawed as the teen girl bowed her head to the group. "We've tried so many times to stop that monster, but we've failed every time. We can't do this alone, not with our meager powers. I know this is a lot to ask of you all, but...I want to make Gamindustri a brighter place again! Please help me!"

… … … … … … … … …

Nobody said anything after that. Vert glanced around the room, first to Chika, then to Cave, then Neptune, before going back to Verna and repeating the cycle over again. No words needed to be said for them to know their thoughts were travelling along parallel wavelengths. It was obvious what their answer would be.

"Of course we will help you, my dear Verna."

The teen's head snapped up, her eyes wide with disbelief. Vert...

"Don't get the wrong idea though. I don't like the idea of someone causing harm to my beloved sister. Future timeline or not, I'm not letting something like this slide. And...more importantly, _I'm_ the only one who's allowed to berate you for anything."

Chika…

"But of course. I suppose I have become far more sentimental since I met you, little one… Though, I suppose I cannot call you 'little' now. Regardless, I would never forgive myself if I were to turn a blind eye to a close friend in need."

Cave…

"Me too! I'm with you all the way, bigger Verny! We're gonna make this 'Stella' person pay for what they've done."

Neptune…

"Everyone..." And just like that, a fire had been lit in Verna's heart. The girl was practically on the verge of bawling her eyes out from relief and joy. She just felt so good that she needed to get it out somehow, and without thinking… "Thank you all so much!" She practically leaped from her spot and tackled Vert to the ground, wrapping her arms around the surprised CPU. "Thank you… Thank you..."

The girl just stayed there for the longest time, crying tears of joy in her sister's embrace. Vert had been so taken aback by the action that it took a while for what was happening to sink in, but once it finally did a tinge of pink spread along her cheeks. "N-no need to thank us. We could never say no to our little Verna, future timeline or not."

"Thank you… So much!"

Such a heart-warming moment… Shame it had to be ruined by the ever so elegant sound of Verna's stomach growling louder than a hungry Fenrir on the prowl. Needless to say, but Verna's face burned a great, beet red with embarrassment as she tried ever so desperately to hide her face with a pillow.

"Y-You didn't hear anything! That didn't just happen, okay?!"

Everyone had to fight to suppress a chuckle, not only at the sudden mood change, but also to spare Verna any further embarrassment in front of her older sister. "Ah… V-Verna, would you by any chance like to join us for dinner?" Vert asked delicately. "We haven't had much chance to eat ourselves yet, so you're welcome to join us, if you'd like."

"S-Sure, I'd...love to."

Who would have thought that a Verna from such a desolate future could still hold on to her more girlish side… In a way, Vert was kind of relieved to see that. Even living in such terrible conditions, the girl never lost sense of who she really was, despite all the hardships. And, even as the group made their way way out to the dining area...Verna never did let go of Vert's hand on the way there.

" _An apocalyptic future_ _, huh…? Now_ that _sounds interesting._ _Stella… I'll be sure to remember that name._ "


End file.
